Weddings are always packed with romance, fun, irresistible food, and drinks.

Since weddings are basically big celebrations, and no celebration is complete without food and drinks, weddings have a few different parts, and they all contain food and drink choices: welcome parties, cocktail hours, wedding receptions, wedding cakes, and even brunches the day after the big day.

Even though wedding food and drinks usually aren’t the healthiest, there are definitely ways you can stay healthy and eat healthy at a wedding, and not ruin your healthy diet plans or your weight loss journey.

Since wedding season is currently happening, and it will be for the next couple of months as well, I am writing this post to help you learn how you can eat healthy at a wedding, while still having a great time, filling up your plate, feeling full, staying hydrated, and spending the day on the dance floor.

How To Eat Healthy At A Wedding

So, here are my favorite tips for eating healthy at a wedding!

Plan In Advance

What I mean by planning in advance, is being aware of the fact that you’re going to a wedding, and coming up with a plan for healthy eating before and during the big day. Do that pre-wedding, so when you get there, you don’t have to think about it, and you can just enjoy yourself.

If you know you’ll want to relax a bit, enjoy a glass of wine or two, indulge in some wedding cake, you can try and eat extra healthy in the days before the wedding.

When you do that, and when you find healthier options and still be on your diet plan even during the wedding, your weight loss journey won’t suffer, and you’ll be happy after.

So, plan in advance. Decide how much wedding cake you’ll eat, whether you’ll be drinking alcohol or not (and which alcoholic beverage will you drink), whether you’ll eat unhealthy food options in smaller portions or not at all, etc.

You can also decide to up your physical activity before & after the wedding, so you can relax while you’re there.

Don’t Skip Meals

This is a common mistake people make when they’re trying to lose weight, stick to a diet plan, or eat healthy. They think that by skipping meals, they’re eating less food, and therefore getting rid of the extra calories.

However, this method usually backfires. You become way too hungry, and you end up eating way too much, without thinking about which food is healthy and which isn’t, so it usually ends up being very unhealthy.

Instead, have all of your meals, and just make them healthier.

That way, you’re controlling what you’re eating, and you’re filling yourself up with healthy food.

Also, think about portion control. Instead of skipping meals, just don’t overeat - eat a portion that’s enough to fuel your body and leave you feeling full. Portion control is a great way to even enjoy some food that isn’t the healthiest, especially at a wedding - as long as you’re thinking about portions.

Eat A Snack Before The Wedding

A great way to make sure you don’t end up too hungry and eating all of the unhealthy options, is to eat a healthy snack before the wedding.

That way, you’ll be able to find healthy food options at the wedding, and still feel full when you eat them. It will also help with portion control at the wedding.

Some healthy pre-wedding snacks would be fruit, veggies, nuts, side salads, etc.

Choose Healthier Options

Just because you’re at a wedding, doesn’t mean there won’t be any healthy options there. You can still stay healthy when at a wedding.

What you want to do is fill up your plate with healthier food, and eat without feeling bad.

That way, you’re feeling full, and your diet is not ruined.

So, how do you do that?

Eat lean protein, salads, and veggies, and cut down on bread, unhealthy sides, and sauces.

There are always salads at weddings, so you can eat those without feeling guilty. Since grilled chicken is a popular wedding food as well, eat that for your lean protein, and take some grilled veggies as a side, if there are any.

What you want to cut down on is bread as a side, cheese if there’s a charcuterie board, and any heavy sauces they might serve.

When it comes to desserts, it depends on what your options are. If they serve some fruit, you can eat that if you have a sweet tooth.

Of course, you can enjoy some wedding cake as well, just don’t go crazy with it.

A great trick for eating a bit less food is to fill up on water. You’ll trick your stomach into thinking you’re full, which will give you time to eat healthy food, without craving the unhealthy stuff. And also, drinking water is important because you want to be hydrated all day, especially if you'll be dancing on the dance floor, and losing fluids.